But if you'll really hold me tight, All the way home I'll be warm

I just drank the best cup of hot chocolate I think I have ever had in my life. Today, its raining and I walked back up to the dorm after a lovely lunch with Breanna. I am so encouraged by what God is doing in my life and how he is using people, and using little, seeming meaningless things, such as a cup of hot chocolate to brighten my life and lift my spirits. 

It is so easy to go through life complaining, being upset when things don't go my way, and just trying to change every little detail of life around me, but that is so pointless, so meaningless. 
I love taking in the little things in life, like the flowers, like the cool breeze on a hot day, or a warm cuddly blanket on a cold rainy day such as today. 
God is so refreshing, so renewing each and every moment of everyday. 


"But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints." - Psalm 52:8-9


God has blessed me so much and continues to bless me. He is so worthy of praise and thanksgiving, he never ceases his blessings on his children. The book of Psalm is so full of praises, so filled with David's cries out to the Lord and of God's mercies on him. I love how honest David is with God, and how clearly he states his requests and his motives. I want to talk to God like David does. I want to always come to God with my praise and with a heart that is thankful but also be completely honest with him. Because He really is soooo amazing, he knows our deepest thoughts but he still cares to hear about what is going on in our lives. He has put us here for a purpose and I am so amazed by the way he speaks to me so gently.


"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands." - Psalm 138:8


God has provided so much for me in my life and so often I walk right by blessings as if somehow life just lent me a hand, but it is always Him! It is always GOD who blesses me, and I need to continually thank him. 
This reminds me of a time when I was sitting in the courtyard with a friend, we were simply talking when a guy walked out of one of the hallways. He had a huge smile on his face, and knelt down in the grass next to the building and proceeded to pray, I assume he was thanking God for whatever had just happened. How awesome is that? How beautiful is the testimony of someone who goes through life thanking God for the good, but also thanking God for the bad!? 
We deserve NOTHING in this live. We deserve death. A miserable death... but we don't get it! We will never have the death we deserve! God has redeemed and restored! All because of how much he loves... He loves us soooo much.


As I was sitting here on this chilly day, I began to think about cold weather and I thought of a song which is sung around Christmas time. I usually wouldn't dare mention Christmas before Thanksgiving but I thought it seemed appropriate. The song is "Let it snow," which I'm sure you all have heard. Well, in the song, it is obviously talking about a man and a woman and how it is cold outside, but one line of the lyrics goes "but if you'll really hold me tight, All the way home I'll be warm..." 
Now if you take that out of context and think about what it is saying, how awesome would it be to sit in the arms of our Heavenly Father every single day on this earth!? How amazing could it be if we just would lean back and feel the warmth of his unfailing love, clinging tightly to his glory and his mercy until we arrive at home. I am getting a glimpse of the majesty of that moment as I continue to seek him more and more. He fills me up and warms my soul, he comforts me in every way and gives me the warmth to make it home, to heaven, safely. My Heavenly Father is so majestic but He is also so personal. He holds me, as his child, as his princess, in his arms... He comforts me, He gives me an indescribable joy about life and about all that surrounds me. I am so blessed. I am so honored to be called a child of God. A daughter of the Most High. How amazing... 




Psalm 150-
"Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord."